By Kevin McCauley
Bob Leaf, who presided over the development of Burson-Marsteller’s international network, has written “The Art of Perception,” a memoir covering his half-century in PR, which the author calls a business rather than a profession.
Leaf, left, with Burson in a file photo. |
He’s credited with opening the Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China to PR and running campaigns for global giants such as Coca-Cola, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson.
Leaf counseled colorful characters like Rupert Murdoch and his media baron archrival Robert Maxwell, former Occidental Petroleum CEO Armand Hammer, and King Constantine of Greece.
He turned down an opportunity to represent Libya’s Gaddafi -- prior to the Lockerbie bombing -- because “presenting a favorable image of the Colonel and his government would be too close to science fiction for my tastes.”
The book is loaded with small gems, such as why Leaf was initially voted down for a board seat. During the early 1960s, every B-M employee had to sign in and sign out each day. If a person arrived after the 9 a.m. check-in time, he or she had to sign in with red ink. During the month prior to the board vote, Leaf had been late twice. He was late one time by four minutes and the other by six.
Wrote Leaf: “Bill Marsteller, who believed in perfection in all things, especially by anyone he felt strongly about, and who believed that being on time was the closest to godliness, had vetoed my board membership. He said that I would be approved at the next board meeting if I arrived at work on time every day until that meeting. From then on, I made a concerted effort to arrive by nine, and I was able to join the board three months later.”
The author contrasts those days with today where “punctuality is a lot art. It was easier to find Osama bin Laden that it is to get people to arrive at a meeting on time these days.”
Leaf, who remains an advisor to B-M, runs Robert S. Leaf Consultants in London.
The Art of Perception is available on Amazon at the pre-order price of $19.77. It will be released Oct. 14. |